Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal left Cairo today after a short visit to Egypt accompanied by Minister of Finance and National Economy Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf and Minister of Commerce Osama Faqih. During the visit they were received by President of Egypt Muhammad Hosni Mubarak and held talks with Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Atif Obeid.

At a joint press conference with Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Maher, Prince Saud affirmed that all concerned parties had agreed on the need during the coming weeks to try to save Iraq from any possible military action. He declined to say whether there is a Saudi-Egyptian initiative for settling the Iraqi problem, but confirmed that efforts are being made to find a peaceful solution. These efforts, he said, are in line with statements made by Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. He confirmed that Thursday's meeting in Istanbul of the region's foreign ministers would review the situation with a view to setting up a six-party summit there involving Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia. As for Saddam Hussein stepping down, Prince Saud commented that any change of regime in Iraq must come from inside, and therefore he had not discussed this with President Mubarak.

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